The Troublesome Stranger
by katchr
Summary: Bibbity runs into the Odd Squad and a series of unfortunate events unfold. Most characters are from 1/2 Prince.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**I don't own 1/2 Prince, or any of its characters, however Bibbity is my creation.

This is my first online story, so please leave a comment to tell me anything you think I might need to know to improve on future writings. At present this is a stand alone story, but it has the potential to become the intro chapter to a much longer and more complex story. I would also like to know if anyone enjoyed it aswell. I hope to make more chapters in the future, readers input would be welcome. Thank you - Katchr

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Bbbity came to. She had been sleeping in a tree again. The recent events from before were still fresh in her head, and all she knew was that she didn't want to be _there. Besides, today it was final. There is no going back now._

She had only been playing Second-Life for a month, and leveling had not gone well, but it was still better than thinking about the situation.

Rubbing her eyes and stretching, she was careful not to fall. Atleast here the mobs wouldn't get her. She could ruminate without interference and the local pkers probably wouldn't see her. After all she didn't have anyone to email or pester her ingame.

She had picked a class that was hard for soloing. Since she had no prowess in hand-to-hand combat, Bibbity had chosen to become a lightining mage. Sometimes the spells worked and she had discovered that some of the minor mobs couldn't climb trees. That was what had started the tree climbing ritual.

Since she had discovered strange things would raise her stats, Bibbity had worked hard on increasing here agility and strategy skills. Unfortunately, she had no clue how to improve her magic or fighting abilities.

Over time climbing trees had become much easier even though her hair got in the way. She carried hairbands on her hand for such occasions. However, the feeling of it flying free in the breeze was somehow comforting. At the moment the long brown length of hair hung limply down below the branch she sat on, because there was no wind in this woods.

It had been quiet for sometime now, not even the birds had been chirping. Usually a mob would have ambled by. There had been nothing.

_Hm, I wonder what is going on_? It was too still.

She changed from a sitting position to a balanced crouch, and began to search her surroundings with her greyish-blue eyes. Thankfully, her vision was improved in-game.

"Ahh..." escaped her lips as the trees in the distance began to shake, creak, and then part. Her eyes grew to saucers. _What's going on_? she questioned within herself again.

She was riveted to her perch. If something that dangerous was coming she would be caught up in it. It continued to move in her direction.

There, faintly, the sounds of spell-casting and weapons became slowly louder, and louder.

"Loli Dragon, are you okay?" an elf with a black sword yelled out as he appeared from behind a tree. He was covered from head to toe in different colored bloods.

A girl was running and periodically returning to fight. "Nothing I can't handle," she yelled back at him, gasping for breath.

It was obvious they had been at it for a while and it seemed like all the mobs in the woods were after them.

However, the mobs were going down fast.

The two quarter combatants were slicing, dicing, and stabbing with efficiency.

_Spells are being cast too, but from where_? Bibbity craned her neck as though that would allow her to see through the trees. They must still be _coming_. During some spells moving was hard to do.

Bibbity heaved a big sigh. " I'll never be able to cast like that." Every spell hit and it was obviously doing lots of damage.

Finally, the other four players came into veiw. They were surrounded by skeletons for protection.

The four magic based players moved Westward, in her direction, but stopped short of her tree.

Bibbity gasped in shock as she began to realize who she was watching fight, almost losing her grip on the tree. Teetering back and forth, she grasped for the tree's trunk.

Her eyes rested on the demon bard. Then she took a closer look at the warrior elf again. "Oh, oh, oh..." Her excitement began to rise. These were Second-Life's equivalent of celebrities, and she was getting to see them in action. They weren't at the top yet, but they were quickly climbing levels and were known for uncommonly good looks, at least part of the squad was. It was Odd Squad.

"Never in my life did I think I would be so lucky," she thought.

She snuck another look back at the bard. He played his weapon and sang his incantations. He was fascinating to watch. _So graceful._ Elegant hands sweeping across the strings bringing out various rhythms. Bibbity loved music and was enthralled. His long hair and outfit were so perfectly suited to bring out his facial features. The only word for his appearance, the music, and the song chants was perfection.

_Why couldn't I have picked the bard class_? Then she could have worked, crafting her self presentation with a similar, elaborate depth. _How strange, he even has a guqin. Everyone says he is comical, that he is idiotic and non-sensical also, but I don't see that_ she thought. _Too much perfection_. He was far too graceful. There was no hint of an idiot. _Too smooth_.

She began to get the feeling that nothing in that mob fight would escape his notice.

Suddenly, the bard quit casting. He stood motionless for a moment, then his head swung up to the tree branch she was squatting on.

Gui, the demon bard, had seen her.

Fear grew in her, as she realized that he had noticed her. After all they were practicing for the second half of the tournament and probably did not want to be seen.

His eyes were intense, penetrating. With a couple plucks of the strings and "Supersonic arrow," an arrow of light shot out and hit the tree branch she was perched on.

She fell to the earth below as the branch shook mercilessly. "ow, ow, ow, ouch!" Bibbity screamed.

One of the mobs had seen her. The commotion had caught it's attention. As the giant Armored Turtle moved in her direction. The "Blood Elf'," Prince, moved to counter.

All Bibbity could do was try to scramble to get away. She wound up sitting against the tree she had perched in earlier, still trying to push herself further into the tree by repeatedly kicking her heals into the ground.

The giant bipedal turtle swung at her and in answer, once again, the sword flew horizontally above her head, landing in the turtle's neck.

Bibbity instinctively put both hands up to protect her head.

The Armored Turtle had tried to escape the sword and was dispatched quickly with a following blow.

Prince moved on to another mob, thereafter appearing to keep himself bodily between her and the mobs.

She was now forced to watch, mesmerized with fear, excitement, and awe as this grotesque elf, covered in blood fought in a manner that resembled a gruesome dance. The more blood flew, the more the elf, possessed with a feverish battle mania, smiled with the joy of slaughter. Occasionally, Bibbity got a glimpse of that fevered face and cringed. Rumors didn't begin to express his fearfulness.

Everything in her screamed to get out of this situation, but she willed herself to stay. The fear from all the times her life had been put in danger in the real world threatened again to well up. _This is only a game_, she told herself. _This isn't real_. She willed herself to stay there, at the base of the tree as she shook in fear and began to understand how much the real world had affected her game play.

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As Bibbity watched the battle from the base of the tree, the stress caused by her fear began to take its toll on her mind. It wasn't an uncommon problem for her. She would fall asleep in the middle of arguments. It had become a regular problem for her, and now it had begun to happen. She felt all her strength seep out from her limbs, and a heavy weight on her eyes, accompanied by the sense of her mind going numb. Her head fell to her chest as she blacked out to the sound of battle.

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They had been fighting for an hour and a half at that one location now, and they had finally run out of mobs.

Prince, covered in blood, slimy from head to toe, took in the view of all their hard work. He knew that in the heart of battle something had happened, but he couldn't remember what. Hacking, slashing and generally getting a really hefty workout really felt good. He took in a big breath, letting it go, shook clean the blade of the black sword and sheathed it.

Something caught his eye. There was a person unconscious on the ground. They didn't look like they had been hurt. _Sleeping in a place like this? What kind of fool is that?_ he thought to himself. He could see she was soundly asleep, breathing in regular intervals.

He went over to the sleeping form. The armor was lower level, worn out, definitely in need of some serious repair. There was what he had originally mistook as a brown pool all around her upper torso, it wound up being lots of hair, long brown hair, everywhere.

"Hey, wake up." He slapped her left and right cheeks.

In reality, Prince was a girl, so the appearance of the girl didn't phase him that much. The only thing remarkable about this girl was all the hair. Prince had a bad habit of comparing every girl he/she met in-game to his physical form. No jealousy rose up this time.

The first thing Bibbity felt was pain on her cheeks and a man saying, "Wake up."

She didn't want to wake up. It was so peaceful where she had been.

Loli Dragon PMed Prince. "Don't forget to put up your front. You don't need more fan girl troubles."

Prince PMed back,"Thanks for the reminder." He slipped on his icy cold expression. No wanting any new fans to gather in his shadows.

That was the look that greeted Bibbity's eyes, coupled with the blood caked on. She screamed.

Prince fell back. His sword sheath landing in the dirt on point, causing a very awkward moment as Gui rushed in to help his beloved Prince regain his composure.

Bibbity, totally panicked, scrambled on all fours to get away from the frightening face that had awoken her. Rising to her feet after escaping to the other side of the tree, she began to run.

Ugly Wolf had been prepared for this whole scenario from the moment the battle had ended, and he realized Prince would get to her first. In reality he was physician, and had seen many traumatized patients, so he had moved to an advantageous spot which just happened to be behind a bush. He intended to block her escape and then calm her down if necessary.

Bibbity, unseeing in her panic, ran straight into his chest and fell back onto the ground. Another scream reflexively escaped her lips as she realized that she had bounced off something that did not feel like a tree.

She didn't dare look up. she was too scared. This time she huddled into a ball, whimpering, and shaking. "It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real." she kept chanting to herself again and again.

It came closer and a shadow blocked out the sunlight that had been peaking through the tree tops.

Bibbity was once again enveloped in darkness as her mind shut down.

Ugly Wolf, a compassionate wolfman, with a kind disposition, had thought to help this traumatized girl, never expecting she would black out a second time, and so quickly after the previous episode. It was disconcerting to him that someone so apparently fragile would be running around in the woods alone. Wolf gently scooped the girl up in his overly large, strong arms.

All of the Odd Squad had gathered around him by then.

"Prince, until you have bathed, you are not allowed to go anywhere near this child." Wolf's rasping voice spoke in team chat. Because his frame was much taller than the average person, the girl looked like the child he had called her.

The looks of concern on everyone's faces had gotten serious, and Gui was very much beginning to repent for his earlier action.

There was a stream and waterfall nearby, so the party began to walk.

******************************************

Loli Dragon was playing with Meatbun in the stream. The sound of their laughter could be heard as Meatbun called out to "Mommy," who could be found on the other side of a sizeable black boulder, bathing both himself and clothing at once. Prince didn't totally trust Gui to stay away during his cleaning, even though Gui had been strangely quiet this whole time.

Down stream from everyone Doll could be seen languidly floating. They had worked hard and all she wanted to do was relax. Of course she was worried about the stranger, but Yulian and Wolf-nii were more than capable. She would just have to wait till later. Besides everything in her body was worn out. It was taxing to keep so many skeletons out for so long. However, over all her skills had improved greatly due to Wolf-Dage's training regiment.

Yulian sat on the river bank cradling the stranger's unconscious head in her lap, while holding the wet cloth that Wolf, her ingame husband, periodically replaced for her.

Ugly Wolf, had never quite appreciated the realistic quality of the game as much as he did right now. Thanks to it he had been able to check her pulse. But it still bothered him. Why had she been alone? A spell-caster with bad low level armor...

He absentmindedly stared at the sparkling water that slowly meandered by.

Yulian watched Wolf from where she sat. She loved his straight shoulders and noble form. He stood so tall and upright. His shoulders never bent and his head never bowed down in defeat. His heart and mind never were cloudy. A kind, gentle wisdom shined through his voice. she hoped that someday she would have the honor of meeting him in real life. such a person as this deserved her respect.

The first thing Yulian felt was a small shift in the head. She opened the team chat and called, "Wolf-Dage, she just moved."

He got up right away as everyone else took notice. All eyes went to the figure which was groping heavenward to block the sunlight which had become very bright.

Wolf, this time from a distance, spoke to the girl, "I am a friend, and a healer. Will you allow me to approach?" After what had happened the last time he did not want to take anymore chances.

Bibbity, who was very afraid to open her eyes nodded her head yes. Someone was trying to talk to her gently, but their vice was deep compared to the average human's. It had a rasping quality, almost like a canine's.

"I want to check your pulse one more time. Will you allow me to do that?" He wanted desperately to establish some trust before she panicked once again.

There was a huge hand gently wrapping around her wrist and she could feel fur tickling her arm. she jerked a little. It was not expected. Then she remembered she was not in the real world, this was apparently someone who was from the beastkind.

A much smaller and more delicate hand gently brushed her cheek, and she realized someone else was holding her. "Who, who is holding me?" fear began to build.

The deep voice gently answered. "My wife, Yulian, has watched over you in your sleep."

The hand that had checked her pulse now carefully released it's hold and gently, she felt the back of that hand brush her face. It brought back memories of childhood, when she was nine years. She had owned a dog that had been a cross between a husky and a collie. She had loved burying her face in that fur. But the fur of this hand was even softer.

Bibbity began to relax a little, but she was still afraid to open her eyes.

Wolf looked in Gui's direction. He had noticed that Gui had never gotten back into character. It concerned him a little, but there was nothing to be done. He knew Gui had shot the girl out of the tree. Whether on purpose or accident no longer mattered.

He PMed Gui and Prince each, warning them not to rush in. This person needed recovery time.

Gui then looked over at Prince. _I just wanted to protect Prince from further fan-girl problems_. he thought. But there was no true excuse that his conscience could accept. He knew that normally, picking on Prince could lighten his mood, but he didn't even want to be happy. The game was supposed to be an escape. It didn't feel like it was right now.

Gui openned up team chat. "Everyone, thank you for today. It was a good training session. I'll be back in a little bit." He abruptly signed out.

At that time Doll's game was interrupted. Apparently she was needed elsewhere too, so she also told everyone good-bye and took her leave. As she logged out she told the stranger she hoped to see her soon.

Prince, who was a university student named Feng Lan in real life, was trying to figure out what to do. She knew that something was seriously wrong when Professor Min, Gui, didn't even acknowledge her ingame alter ego. She had been too busy fighting to know that Gui had anything to do with what had happened. No one had talked much about it either. Partly because they had just been too worn out.

Back in the real world Professor Min prepared himself some tea and began to work on grading papers.

His mind kept wandering back to that girl. She appeared to be about the same age as his students. Wolf was with her, so she would be ok. After all Wolf was part of the university's medical staff. He consoled himself with that thought, and promised himself he would get back into character next time he got on-line and apologized to her.

Loli Dragon, a hidden GM, was beginning to think that in some peoples' cases maybe the realism needed to be toned down. _Was that even_ _possible?_ It was something she was going to have to ask the bosses next time they talked.

Yulian helped Bibbity sit up. The young girl had finally mustered the will power to look around. Yulian decided it was now time for the introductions. "I am Yulian, a human fire wizard. This is Ugly Wolf, my husband and a wolfman priest. Over there, by the waterfall, the girl with the red hair is Loli Dragon, a human theif. That round thing on her shoulder is a pet named Meatbun. It belongs to Prince, our elf warrior, who is presently fishing. One member has left already, as you already know."

The girl stood up and brushed the dirt off her beaten leathers. "Thank you. I fear I have caused you much trouble today. Please forgive me. I am Bibbity." She didn't look anyone in the face when she spoke. Her face was looking down at the ground.

Yulian, wanting to ease the girl's tension..."Bibbity, what a strange name. How did you come up with that?"

"The story of Cinderella, where the Godmother casts her spell, 'Bibbity, bobbity, boo.' She gave a sheepish smile, while still shyly looking at the ground.

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Prince had managed to get five decent sized fish.

Loli had gone berry picking, while Wolf started the campfire.

Yulian and Bibbity had spent the time chatting about anything and everything once the awkwardness had been dealt with. It had done wonders for Bibbity and she had learned a lot about spell-casting. Now she had an understanding of why she had troubles.

*********************

When Gui came back he hoped they would still be there. They were, and the fish were almost done roasting.

Wolf waived when Gui arrived, and called him over. "Introduce yourself," 'and be sure to apologize.' he added in private chat.

_Here goes nothing_. Gui thought as he adjusted his cape, preparing to perform the ballad he had been practicing. He had made plans to applogize on bended knee.

Bibbity recognized that the bard had returned just as the air about him changed. Something was about to happen. He was purposely walking toward her. The musical weapon he had attacked her with was in his hands.

Bibbity grabbed Yulian's sleeve as panic fought to surface. That small move helped anchor her resolve.

Gui had noticed the movement, so he stopped a couple lengths away and dropped to one knee. No sense in sending her into another panic. "I, Guileastos, demon bard, do apologize for having attacked so tender a blossom." His fingers began to make a gentle melody as he lifted his voice toward the heavens pleading for forgiveness. Afterwards he bowed his head, waiting for an acknowledgement.

_Such an extreme applology, but atleast he is trying to get back into character_, thought Ugly Wolf.

Bibbity summoned her courage, still holding onto Yulian's sleeve. She resolved to not hide behind her new friend. "I forgive you, but..."

That was all Gui needed to radically switch gears, and in an alarmingly quick switching of gears, his face lit up and stars could be seen in his eyes as he clasp his hands together. With the excited look of a joyful puppy, he pounced at the totally unprepared girl, saying "Thank you, thank you, I'm so happy!"

Then like a miniture whirlwind he headed in Princes' direction.

Wolf laughed, and said, "I guess the Gui we all know and love is back."

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As the night wore on Bibbity had watched Gui messing around with Prince, and she had begun to see his heart, that he really did care for his companions. He may not have been as aloof as she had imagined at first sight.

She had gradually quieted down as the beach party had continued and the members of Odd Squad who were still there got pulled farther into conversation.

There was a warm feeling rising up in her. This was the first time she had, had human company in this alternate reality, but her eyes were being drawn to the night sky that had so long kept her company.

She felt full inside, content. It was nearing time for her to wander again into this world's dark night which so willingly wrapped its arms around her. She silently crept away from the crackling fire to go sit on the rock outcropping, allowing her to watch the enlarged moon which hung low in the horizon, and listen to the trickling of the waterfall.

Gui spied movement out of the corner of his eyes as she went, and looking around, he realised who was missing.

With a gesture to Wolf, Gui got up and quietly walked to the human silhouette that had sat on the rock.

"Gui, who are you really?" Bibbity didn't even turn around. "I saw a man who's antics breached on the idiotic, just as rumors said, a warmth in your smile when you looked at your friends. I would have compared you to a kitten playing with their favorite ball of yarn at those times. But I also saw a man who was cold, calculating, and potentially dangerous. Who are you really?" She said again.

Gui was surprised, she knew it was him. He was sure he hadn't made a noise, to keep from disturbing her. His head jerked slightly as shock ran through him. Nothing he had seen or heard from this day had prepared him for this question.

Because of the shock, he had stopped walking without realizing it. He took the last few steps and slowly sat down beside her. Without looking at her, he answered, "I wonder that sometimes myself."

"You know I don't trust men, they are dangerous." Another unexpected statement from her lips.

The events of the day returned like a flood to his mind. That ever annoying, near perfect memory could once again see the fear in her eyes. He had been the catalyst for those events. "I am sorry." That was all he could say, as his face fell, crestfallen. No role-playing this time.

They sat in silence listening to the wind of the night sky and the gentle falling of water.


	2. Chapter 2

SteelyEye was crouched down in the bushes. He had seen something that didn't appear good. There was a group of three people entering an abandoned building. The sun wasn't fully up yet, so everything had muted tones, but it looked like one of them was carrying a body. He was pretty sure that people didn't sleep in game, so the one being carried must have been unconscious.

He stealthfuly took a couple steps in the direction of the usually empty ruins and a mob showed up. _So much for sneaking up on them._ He pulled out his large axe and swung down. the gray wolf went down with a loud thud on the ground. Then the rest of the pack showed up. It didn't take long to clear out the pack and retrieve the gold drops. There had only been a total of seven wolves.

He went up to the door and listened, but he found it completely silent inside. He kept his axe out just in case there was trouble, and kicked the door gently open. It was too dark to see anything.

The dark skinned elf with extraordinarily straight grey hair running down his back, who also wore black fighting leathers, stood in the doorway listening intently. In the dark moonlight his hair glinted in a gentle silver reflection of the moon's face. His eyes had a curious golden fire burning in them. The only thing to be heard was the squeak of a frightened mouse as it ran away from having its territory invaded again.

When it became apparent that there was no other movement, and that the only breathing he could hear was his and that of someone asleep, he stepped in farther. The floor creaked under his weight, but it did not cause a reaction.

She was laying in a corner. He could see her because her captors had used a binding spell. It was glowing around her wrists in the dark. _I thought only the NPCs and GMs would have binding spells. This doesn't feel right_.

He reached down and did what was a normal part of his routine on the streets. He checked for a pulse. It wasn't there for a moment, but then after a couple of seconds it started again on its own. "Hmm." He reached out to check her bags to see if there was anything to identify who she was. It wasn't until he was done looking into the second bag that he remembered this was a game. _Oops, guess she won't have normal identification then._ He quickly put the bag away.

_Guess there is nothing to do now but wait._ He sat down just outside the doorway, holding his giant golden axe.

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Gui got on the game. He had finished his part of designing the basic layout of the city Odd Squad was building, and was now playing overseer to make sure that the design would not be destroyed. As a university professor in the real world, he had to admit that things had really become work. He needed a break from the tedious grind of responsibilities. He had tried to entertain himself by pretending to be a wimpy crybaby during Prince's absence in the game, but that only went so far to entertain him, even though that was how he felt inside. It was getting very lonely without his violent companion. He was in love with Prince's smile. Going to grind on mobs was never boring when the lithe blood elf went to work. Work, what a boring word. These days there was too much of it. _Got to stop thinking about it._

He was standing by a river bank, but the sun wasn't up yet and the moon was quickly disappearing. He arranged his cape on the ground as he sat down and pulled out his guqin. This was his favorite hiding place. No one had found him when he came here. He decided to go check on the city construction later. Right now he just needed some quiet time. Before closing his eyes he cast a look over his right shoulder at an old shack that lay in ruins. Gui was convinced it was just his imagination that he saw movement. A mouse ran by him squealing and scurried into the rushes to the left of him.

_This is good. I can relax here, and practice my music._ He settled into a sitting position that would allow him to play comfortably, and set the guqin, a relative of the zither family, on his lap. He took one more look up, only this time to the left of him where a large willow was softly blowing in the wind. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and listened to the wind, felt it carress his fingers and imagined that he would touch the strings with just as soothing a motion as the wind did to him. After a few moments of contemplation he lifted his right hand into a position where he could pluck the strings with his long fingernails, and placed his left hand in a way to allow him to slide the length and finger tips of his middle three fingers up and down the strings. A tender exotic melody began to rise up from his guqin. It lingered in the air around him as each note was lovingly brought into reality. This was an instrument comparable to the violin for precision, and it was necessary to practice often, but it soothed his pained heart.

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Bibbity, having just woke up, caught herself before yawning and stretching, someone had bound her wrists with a spell. She had forgotten till she looked over and saw the gentle glow of the spell. Then she felt the pain of being hit on the head. No one else could get knocked out in the game, this issue was singular to her. Who ever these men were, they had figured out how to cause a short in her brain while in game. Those three men had also used her real name, but she couldn't remember what they had said. It had all gone blurry.

She lay there for a while trying to force memories that wouldn't come. Then she very quietly started looking around. All she knew was that she didn't want anyone knowing that she was awake. There was a distant sound of an instrument that made her think of her new found friends. It reminded her more specifically of Gui, then she realized this was the same instrument that he played. _I wonder..._ She opened up her friends list and realized that Gui was online. _Atleast they can't cut off my contact with other players._

Bibbity found that she was shaking. It had started slowly, so that it hadn't bothered her right away, but it was getting stronger. Memories were trying to come back up into her consciousness. _No, this isn't happening to me again. I won't let it. Back then I was only five. I couldn't do anything about it. But this is a different story. I am still here, no one's killed me yet. I can keep going. Those weren't the memories I was trying to retrieve._ It was so frustrating to her. These nightmares from the past had changed her whole life, and they still wouldn't let her go.

Desparate to get a way out. She began to look around in more earnest. She could only see one man, no a dark elf, in the doorway. He was squatting like one on guard. He was exceptionally muscular, and his black leathers looked like they were being pushed to the limit by his posture. The skin had a metallic sheen to it. If she had not seen some of the other players with this odd skin color, she would never have known in the partial light that it wasn't sweat. It looked like it could be some kind of greyish midnight blue, but she wasn't sure. However that hair was fascinating. Where the light hit it there was a white-ish silver glow, but where there was no light, it was a very plain dark grey. That hair hung down straight as if it had been weighted, just past his shoulder blades.

In his hands he held a very dangerous and heavy looking axe. It was a gigantic piece of art. It was golden, and even though she couldn't see the handle, she could see it was double headed, with green gems placed aroung the center area. The center itsself had a picture engraved that she couldn't make out without getting close, and in this condition, or rather situation, she wasn't going to take the chance.

Other than him, the building appeared to be empty. Correction, other than her the building was empty, he was in the entrance, but just outside the doorway. There was no door to close.

As she felt the fear threaten to engulf her, Bibbity placed a PM to Gui. "_Gui, I seriously need help. I've been kidnapped. Three men caught me and put me in a broken down ruins near by. There is a fourth man, a dark elf with a golden axe, who appears to be playing the lookout. I'm trapped in here. There is no other way out."_

Gui stopped playing as soon as his name was spoken, and listened. "_What do you mean by 'near by?' " _he PMed back.

"_I thought I heard you playing your guqin just now. You will probably need help, the guy guarding is huge."_

Gui looked back over his right shoulder. Something glinted. _She just might be that close. "Bibbity, you may be that near. Something caught the light over by the ruins. Give me some time to check things out." _He stood up and headed in the direction of the trees that had been behind him.

There were a few remainders left of some wolves that someone had killed, but they were almost gone now. _What was that then, maybe about an hour ago? No, not quite that long. But it must have happened before I logged on. I didn't hear the fighting. _He took a closer look at the ground where the fighting had happened and found the footprints of the person who had slain the wolves. There was only one set of footprints leading into and out of the fighting area. The set leaving went in one direction, the ruins. _Hmm, that must be the person that is at the ruins. _He squatted down behind some rather sparse bushes. _Now what do I do? He checked his friends list and found out that no one was active at the time. Guess calling for back up is out. _He held his guqin and looked at it. _I wonder if I can lure him out and run?_ _Its not like I can die for real, and I'm pretty used to getting beat up by Prince. I just don't want to lose another level. _

Gui stood back up and leaned against the back side of a tree, took a deep breath, made sure the instrument was in a position so he could fire it, and then if necessary, run.

He looked at the ruins as the sun began to rise, and the sunlight slowly brought back the colors to Second Life's world. He could now see very clearly that the dark elf was crouching on the step just outside the door and he held a vicious looking weapon in his hands that shined golden from top to bottom. He was holding it straight up and down as he used it to balance as a third leg. The head of the double axe was also large enough to work as a shield.

SteelyEye had been waiting for the kidnappers to come back long enough so that his mind had begun to wander. He was here because there were problems at work, and the opinions of those in charge was that he needed a break before he became more of a threat to his co-workers. He was feeling justifiably angry about the way the higher ups had treated him in his thoughts, but then he had been working there for so long that he couldn't remember what being new to the job felt like anymore.

There was a vibration through his shoes, then a cracking sound as something struck the step under him. When he looked down, the plank all his weight had been held by was broken and there were scorch marks. Someone had shot at him.

Another magical arrow shot by his head, but his mind was still in the real world, and reflexes took over. He reached for his holster, but it wasn't there. His heart skipped a beat, and he ran for cover inside the doorway, as he realised he had no long range attacks to fight back with. _I forgot I was in the game, now I need to think. _He could feel the adrenaline rush that was a normal part of everyday life for him, and he loved the feeling that came with a good challenge. _The kidnappers must have come back._ He wasn't sure that he had really thought the moment out real well. Maybe he had assumed they would just walk up to him when they saw him on their doorstep. That obviously wasn't the case. A barradge of arrows flew at the doorway and lit up the inside of the ruins like a small lightning strike, and disappeared again, leaving behind small burned indents where they had landed. _I can't say I feel like being hit by those and finding out what being scewered alive feels like is even more unattractive._ A moment or two went by, then he realized that there was only one person attacking. _If I chase him, then his companions can come in here and take her. I can't just leave her here alone. _

Being careful to stay out of the door's range, SteelyEye went over to the figure lying on the floor in the dusty corner. The sunlight was showing through the cracks in the slats. It fell on the girl who lay with her back to him. He couldn't see it with his eyes, but she was shaking. She heard the sound of the arrows as Gui shot, and new it was him coming to the rescue, but the guard was not leaving. He had come into the cabin instead, she was terrified. With each step he came closer she was sure that something bad was going to happen. _I won't show my fear. If I show him I'm afraid, I wll lose power._ She thought to herself. But the shaking wouldn't stop.

"Hey girl, you 'wake yet? We got trouble." SteelyEye spoke in a normal voice, but she gave an involuntary jolt.

She turned around to face him with defiantly blazing blue eyes, Bibbity released her fear in anger. "What do you mean, 'We' have trouble? That person out there is trying to rescue me. It was you and your 'friends' who kidnapped me."

He stepped back as he inhaled. It was like seeing a tiger jump out. She had not shown any signs of being awake. The way she was laying on her back, leaning back on the palms of her hands, displayed that her stomach was solid muscle. This girl looked like she could be a runner in a track team. He realized then that the hair was wild and untamed. It was brown with red highlights. Leaves and sticks had made a home in her hair, and there was dirt all over her face. It looked like she had been dragged over the ground. What would have been a fresh wound on her cheek an hour ago, was now nearly healed. Her clothes were low level brown leathers that most players would have discarded gladly after the first week of play in favor of just about anything else that could help protect them better. It had broken seams and signs of being slashed from fights with who new what.

It took a moment for what she said to register, after all, her appearance was overwhelming in itsself. But when it did register, SteelyEye was stunned. He had never realized anyone would think he was the kidnapper.

"I'm not the one who kidnapped you. Three men brought you here and left before I could confront them."

By then Gui had stopped shooting his arrows, and had come to the doorway. He was worried that something may have happened to Bibbity.

SteelyEye continued, "Why didn't you log out when you woke up? That is what most other players would have done."

Bibbity hmphed, stood up and pulled out a hairbrush to do her hair. "I don't trust you, but you are out numbered anyway. There are two of us and one of you." Leaving his question unanswered, she continued to work on getting the twigs and leaves out of her hair, while turning her back on him.

Gui, who had one hand rested on the doorframe, was trying to figure out what was going on. He had heard what the man had said, but Gui wasn't sure about trusting him either. Once he had noticed the guard wasn't defending, he had run to the door. He looked into the mixed light that was now showing through the roof as the sun rose, and asked, "Who are you dark elf?"

SteelyEye turned around to see the most elegant, yet out of breath purple demon staring at him. It wasn't that his skin was purple, but rather everything else was: hair, eyes, clothes, and the boots. _Who is this character? _

When it became obvious that the dark elf wasn't going to answer fast enough to suit Gui, he spoke again. "Bibbity, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't touch me." She started pulling her hair together in order to make a ponytail.

"I will repeat myself one more time. Who are you, and what is your business with Bibbity?"

_So the wild puma's name was Bibbity, huh? _"Not much except I wanted to make sure that she was ok. She was left here in cuffs. But the men who brought her didn't come back before the spell wore off."

Gui shifted his stance and brought down his arm from the doorway. He then rearranged how he was holding his guqin, so that both hands would support it. He had not thought a thing about it, but it brought the attention of the dark elf.

"Were those arrows coming from that?" SteelyEye pointed at the curious instrument. "You attacked me with that? What are you anyway?"

"I am a bard." Gui looked nonplused at the stranger.

"You never did answer my question about who you are. Why don't you come out here and answer it now." Gui, knowing Bibbity's distrust for men, and seeing how tenuous her hold on her fragile emotions were, decided it was better to leave her alone in the ruins to finish whatever she needed to do. He could talk just as easily to the elf outside in the morning air as through the entrance way. _The strangers is right, why didn't she log out? _It seemed like too many things were beginning to leave questions in his mind. _Logging out would have been the logical choice for just about any other player who found themselves in this kind of trouble. I know I would have done that if it was me._ Then he realized that everytime he had checked his friends list, she was always on. _I am going to have to check into this._

Gui was right, Bibbity was shook up, but was trying hard to hide her fear. She rummaged through her pouches, arranging and rearranging her belongings, in order to look busy while gathering her jagged nerves. That dark elf was tall. Tall enough that she would have to crane her neck to look up at his face if she was standing directly in front of him. Strong too. She had seen how the muscles had rippled when he moved his arms. She had found the eyes to be exceptionally scary also. They were like dancing flames of gold and orange, behind the black of the eye.

She was very aware of the men just outside of the door, and knew they were waiting for her. She was pretty sure that Gui would never leave her alone as long as he thought there was any danger. Not because he knew who she was. He didn't after all. But because that was a part of his personality. For a moment her memories came back again. To a time many years ago when she had first met him. He had been much younger, as had she. He had been brought to visit by his parents and had a collection of books under his arm. He had brought them to share with her, knowing that she couldn't read them herself.

There was a creak. "I'm coming Gui, just give me a moment." She slung her pack back into place.

"You did it again. Recognized it was me without turning around." He came up behind her stopping a couple footsteps away.

"Well, it's not like I am likely to be wrong this time." She brushed his comment off. "There's only two of you here, but I don't really know him, so he isn't the one who would come in here to get me."

"That excuse doesn't work for the night we met. You recognized me without looking, in the dark. I've been thinking about that alot. I came up with more than three possibilities for why you would have known it was me, but only one seems to fit the best. The rest are too far fetched to believe. So, I have a question to ask you. Bibbity, in the real world, are you blind?"

She froze. Even though she had known this was coming. Gui was too smart to not figure it out. She had hoped it would take longer. "Yes, I am."

"You weren't born that way were you. It happened sometime after birth, because if it was a birth defect that affected things, say, more on the genetic, nerve, or brain developement end, you would not be as likely to see in game. Am I correct?"

"Yes, but I can't talk about it, anymore than that is a forbidden topic. Let's get out of here. I don't want to be here anymore." With those last words she brushed past him and into the blinding sunshine.

_Forbidden. What does that mean? _Gui deliberately chose to fall back behind the other two as he began to work on the next pieces of the puzzle. He had waited till the other two had acted more comfortable with each other's company, and watched them as they talked quietly back and forth. He could see she was scared, but it was more on the nervous end now. Not unlike that of a young girl finding infatuation. The tall dark elf seemed to have a heart flutter or two also, when he looked at her.

"Bibbity, where is the rest of your group? Most mages travel in groups, because all their attacks are long range." SteelyEye looked down at the beautiful, if not wild looking creature walking next to him.

"I don't have a group." She looked ahead at the well worn trail they were following.

"I don't have a squad either. It isn't so hard for a warrior to solo. Bibbity, you can't keep traveling alone. You need someone to watch your back, especially after what happened. Mages just aren't suited to soloing." He looked at a Monarch butterfly that was landing on a flower beside him. _This place is just too real._ He shook his head in amazement. A thought crossed his mind that the butterfly was better dressed than the girl standing beside him.

SteelyEye stopped, looking back at the bard who had fallen a ways behind, he yelled, "Let's take our vagabond shopping. She can't keep running around in rags. I'll pay. You can help her stat the gear, since you are a magic based user too."

Gui smiled. This could be fun. It would be a nice change from designing buildings. Thinking about the buildings brought back thoughts of Prince, the Landlord. _I wonder what is going on with Prince right now? _ He shook the thought off, since there was no way to answer. Looks like I've found something to amuse myself with in his absence.

SteelyEye's lack of polish totally embarrassed Bibbity. She had never expected him to turn around and shout out that she needed clothes. She felt her face heat up and started to back away from the obtuse man, only to trip over a fist sized rock. She fell down hard in a sitting position.

Gui sighed and went over intending to help her up, but got the distinct impression that he needed to stay out of the way while the warrior reached over and picked her up off the ground. _Hmm, they do seem to be bonding pretty quick. _Gui crossed his arms and smiled to himself again. Yes, this could be fun for a while.


End file.
